Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston fires a pass during the spring game on April 12. / Melina Vastola, USA TODAY Sports

by Corey Clark, USA TODAY Sports

by Corey Clark, USA TODAY Sports

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Jameis Winston admitted after Saturday's spring game that he was drained from splitting time between football and baseball over the last month.

But after struggling early to find open receivers, Florida State's star quarterback finished off his spring in style by completing 27 of 56 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns in the Garnet's 31-14 win over the Gold.

"We didn't have many guys open (early)," FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher said. "That secondary was locking them down. But they gradually got open and he made some throws. ... He made two or three really nice throws in the game.

"Overall, I thought we had a good day."

Winston arrived in Tallahassee at about 11 a.m. Saturday morning after taking a chartered flight from Atlanta, where he was with the Florida State baseball team on Friday night.

And after meeting with the media following the Garnet & Gold game, he was off to the airport to fly back to Atlanta to rejoin the FSU baseball team for the final game of its series against Georgia Tech.

While Winston loves doing both, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner admitted that it got tiring at times over the last few weeks.

"There were some days where I was drained, man," Winston said. "I'm a busy man. I've got to study. I'm a regular college student. Football is not particularly my job yet. So I've got to carry out my everyday life, and I just can't sit around and be lazy all day. I hate being bored."

That certainly hasn't been a problem this past month. And it wasn't on Saturday, either, as he threw 56 passes against the first-team FSU defense. The most attempts he had in any game last season was 35 against Auburn in the BCS Championship game.

Winston actually connected on just 7 of his first 21 attempts in the first half, as starting receivers Jesus "Bobo" Wilson, Christian Green and Rashad Greene had trouble finding separation from the Seminoles' speedy secondary.

"We've got the best (defensive) backs in the country," Winston said.

The head coach didn't disagree.

"And (Ronald) Darby's not even out there," Fisher said of the injured cornerback, who was the 2012 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. "I'm very proud of the way they're doing. I love that secondary."

But eventually, Winston and the receivers started making plays. Fifth-year senior Christian Green had three catches for 60 yards, and Wilson finished with four grabs for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Greene had a typical Rashad Greene afternoon for the Garnet, with 11 catches for 127 yards and a score. But it was the inexperienced wideouts on both teams that seemed to get better as the day wore on.

Rising sophomore Isaiah Jones had five catches for 81 yards for the Gold team, with classmate Kermit Whitfield hauling in four catches for 79.

"It started off fast," Winston said. "Everybody's going fast. That's their first real game in front of all those people, that they're actually starting. And obviously the first half was just, it was just fast. But everybody settled down and we started playing Seminole football."

The first-team defense owned the first half, forcing three turnovers in the first quarter alone. Jalen Ramsey had a interception of Winston on a deflection, linebacker Matthew Thomas recovered a Freddie Stevenson fumble, and cornerback P.J. Williams stripped Wilson after a 66-yard catch and recovered the fumble.

"It was real good being able to rattle them early," Williams said. "We're going to compete to the end. We're always trying to create turnovers and make plays. Coach always tells us to finish, to make sure we finish. Even if we're beat, finish to the ball and you never know what can happen."

While Winston, with his 434 total yards, was the obvious offensive star on Saturday, Fisher said he was also quite pleased with his two backup quarterbacks.

Sean Maguire, working with the No. 2 offense, finished 15 of 28 for 203 yards and a touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game. Freshman John Franklin III, also working with the second team, was 5 of 10 for 103 yards and finished off the scoring with a 19-yard TD strike to senior Scooter Haggins in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.

"Overall I was not displeased at all," Fisher said. "I liked what I saw. We're 3½ months into this ... but I'm very pleased with how we progressed."